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Cowboys look to shake Origin blues

Cowboys wins during the tough State of Origin representative season can be as hard to come by as snow in tropical North Queensland.

In 2013, the club failed to jag a single win with their Origin stars away.

But with the likes of Robert Lui and Scott Bolton firing for the Cowboys and a three-game winning streak heading into the representative season, North Queensland skipper Johnathan Thurston is confident he is leaving his club in good hands.

The Cowboys' three Origin certainties in Thurston, Matt Scott and James Tamou were brilliant in the club's 42-10 rout of the Roosters in Townsville on Saturday night.

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But behind their brilliance was rugged workhorse Bolton churning out 120m in his second straight week in the starting team, and strong performances from forwards Ethan Lowe and Ashton Sims.

But it was Lui who could be the most critical for the Cowboys.

Thurston's brilliance will be sorely missed, but Lui has turned in two consecutive blinders in games he wasn't even meant to play.

The halfback has only been selected in the Cowboys matches against the Broncos and the Roosters because Ray Thompson's recovery from a knee injury has been longer than anticipated.

Thurston believes this could equate to a potent halves pairing with Thompson to return as the Queensland No.7 heads to camp Maroon.

"It can be tough when you get pushed back to (Queensland) Cup," Thurston said of Lui.

"But he wasn't kicking stones or anything.

"He knows that there are a few things that he needs to work on in his game and he's been doing it on the training paddock.

"Over the last two weeks he's been in good form for us.

"That's like all the boys, they've all been working really hard ... that's what we need at this time of the year.

"Everyone is accountable for what they do on the field.

"We're confident that everybody knows their role. Whether it's in the halves or in the front row.

"The boys that step in there can do it for us."

The Cowboys cause will be made harder by the fact that Gavin Cooper (dislocated hip) and Cameron King (anterior cruciate ligament) picked up suspected long-term injuries against the Roosters.